PORT ORCHARD — A man accused of walking into a stranger’s Bremerton apartment early New Year’s Day, staying there for 39 minutes, starting a fire and walking out with a gun was charged Thursday in Kitsap County Superior Court.

He told a Bremerton police detective he didn’t remember much about the evening, as he was heavily intoxicated after attending a Seattle Seahawks game the day before, but denied setting the fire or stealing the gun.

Wayne Arthur Nelsen, 45, of Gig Harbor, was identified from surveillance footage released by detectives investigating the fire and theft. After his boss and a Kitsap County Sheriff’s deputy recognized him from the footage, Nelsen turned himself in, according to court documents.

Footage shows Nelsen entering the apartment belonging to a U.S. Navy member who was on duty and shows him leaving 39 minutes later, according to documents.

Four minutes later, smoke was seen in the video and fire alarms activated at the Spyglass Hill Apartments on Highland Avenue, according to documents. Fire investigators said the fire started from an open flame being applied to a coffee table and a lawn chair inside the apartment.

The tenant was notified and returned home to tell investigators he had forgotten to lock the door before leaving but noticed a pistol he left in the open was missing – though not the magazine next to it – and a cup of clear liquor that didn’t belong to him was left behind.

The building, which opened in 2017, has a fire suppression system that extinguished the fire. The fire scorched about 10 percent of the livable space, though water damage was also reported. No injuries were reported. The building was the scene of several New Year’s Eve parties, according to court documents.

A deputy reported he had contacted Nelsen at a residence on Jacobsen Boulevard, across the Manette Bridge, more than an hour after the fire was reported. Not knowing Nelsen was a suspect, the deputy gave him a courtesy ride, according to court documents.

Nelsen told investigators after leaving the game he took the ferry to Bremerton where he drank at a bar, according to court documents. He said he got lost and initially denied entering the apartment, but later during an interview with a detective admitted he had gone inside, sat down and drank vodka, according to documents.

Bremerton Police Detective Beau Ayers said investigators have not located the pistol.